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Summary: A Must: Grand Scale Epic Depicting Tragic Nature of Humans
Review: Though William Holden is given the first billing of the credits, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is without doubt Alec Guinness's film. And the film's setting may lead you to think this masterpiece as a "war movie"; that is not exactly true."The Bridge on the River Kwai" begins with intense battle of will. As British Colonel Nicholson (Guinness) refuses to join the work of building a bridge, Japanese Colonel Saito tests his will in the most extreme ways. But many keen-eyed viewers will soon realize that both have something in common, which finally draws each other after Nicholson's long, long suffering under the hot sun in Southeast Asia. Ironically, Nicholson finds himself deeply involved in nearly impossible task of building a bridge more than he actually knows. But to what purpose? As this storyline shows, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" brilliantly works as a fable, and the superb acting of Alec Guinness, whom younger generations probably remember as Obi-Wan of "Star Wars," will rivet your eyes on the screen. The cinematograhy is also great, capturing the humid climate of the place to give the film authentic atmosphere. But most of all, this is made before CGI became popular in moviemaking -- just imagine they had to make all of those production designs! Looking back from now, David Lean's epic-scale story seems to lose its power in the latter half of the film, in which Holden's character tries to destroy the bridge. His character is a little unconvincing, compared with Guinness and Hayakawa, and Lean, I am afraid, stretched the film too long to depict Holden's deadly mission though his trek in the jungle itself is an engrossing one. And you may feel Hayakawa'a performance is a little theatrical -- but keep in mind, he first became an instant star in Hollywood in 1915 with "Cheat" (directed by Cecil B. DeMille, another director who preferred big-scale movies). But don't worry, you soon forget these things. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is a masterpiece that only golden age of Hollywood could produce; not flashy special effects but talented actors with dedicated crew made it possible to exist. Watch it. Pierre Boulle, a French writer who wrote the original book of "The Bridge on the River Kwai" based on his own experience during the WW2 and his days in prison camp, is also the author of "Planet of the Apes." The latter book (and the original film, to some extent) is also intelligent and iroical as well as David Lean's masterpiece. Try it.
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Summary: Life In A World War II Japanese Prison Camp
Review: THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI is one of my favorite war movies. It is a story about life in a World War II Japanese prison camp situated in a Burmese jungle. The screenplay is actually an adaptation from an anti-war novel by Pierre Brouille. The main thrust of the film is the duel of wills between the commanding officer (Sessue Hayakawa) of the camp and the commander (Alec Guinness) of the British prisoners. The production is marked by strong acting performances by Guinness and Hayakawa. William Holden plays the part of an American escapee who leads a band of commandos back to blow up a bridge which is being constructed by the prisoners. Holden is his usual competent self. Jack Hawkins is another respected actor in the cast. Sessue Hayakawa began making American films in 1914 but spent his World War II years in Japan. The movie's theme song whistled by the prisoners on the way to work on the bridge became a popular recording during the late 1950's. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI received several Academy Awards including best actor by Guinness. Hayakawa was also nominated for best supporting actor. Some other awards were for best picture, director, screenplay and cinematography.
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Summary: classic and deserving of its 7 Oscars
Review: Set in SE Asia and shot in Sri Lanka, this movie centers on the inhabitants of a Japanese POW camp in World War II. Captured British soliders are commanded to build a bridge over the river Kwai, as an integral part of the opposing side's railway. The cruel commando of the camp, Saito, seems exceptionally cruel but, as the movie progresses, it seems he is doing this out of his own sense of honor. In fact, nothing in the movie is so straightforward as "good guy/bad guy". The movie delves into each character's personality. Alec Guinness won the Oscar for Best Actor as Nicholson, the British POW who defies Saito to win better treatment for his captured troops so they might survive. Bill Holden plays an American POW who escapes and impersonates an officer at a base as he bides his time to go home. He is only out for himself, but is sent on a mission to bring down the bridge. There is a line that Nicholson says that really sticks "There comes a point when you realize that you are closer to the end than to the beginning, and you wonder what the sum total of your life represents." The bridge has come to represent many things to many different people, much of it hinged upon whether it stays up or gets torn down.
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Summary: David Lean's anti-war masterpiece in all it's glory......
Review: The release of David Lean's powerful, intelligent and thought provoking anti-war masterpiece on widescreen DVD accompanied by the added bonus documentary "The Making of the Bridge on the River Kwai", along with other featurette's, theatrical trailers and an appreciation of the film by noted director, John Milius, is indeed a cause for celebration amongst cinema afficiando's of this most superb of motion pictures. The remarkable novel by Pierre Boulle (also author of "Monkey Planet"...filmed as the memorable "Planet of the Apes") is masterfully brought to the screen by director David Lean, a true genius behind many historical epics. Deep inside snake ridden Asian jungles, British and American prisoners of war toil under the sweltering tropical sun working on part of the infamous Burma railway that claimed thousands of Allied lives during WWII. Colonel Saito (talented Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa) presides over his POW camp with an iron rule...driving his Japanese troops as hard as his malnourished prisoners. Enter the honorable and steadfast English POW, Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guiness in an Oscar winning performance) refusing to capitulate to Saito's demands that British officers perform manual labour alongside enlisted men. Each man's blind adherance to their own personal code of honor sees the two men plunge into a psychological war of will, bravado and courage...each determined not to waver from their personal beliefs. As these two leaders clash with each other, American prisoner of war and resident camp gravedigger, Shears (William Holden) effects on escape from the brutal prison camp and after nearing death, he makes his way back to the Allied forces. Unfortunately for the timid Shears, he is coerced to guide a suicidal commando mission with Major Warden (Jack Hawkins) and Lieutenant Joyce (Geoffrey Horne) to return to the enemy infested jungles and blow up the railway bridge being built by Nicholson and the British prisoners of war. Each differing path taken by Nicholson, Saito & Shears eventually intertwines and ultimately sees the three men confront their own inner fears and beliefs with tragic circumstances.... Seven Oscars bear testament to the wonderful attributes of this movie....including Best Picture and Best Actor...plus "Kwai" is regularly listed by critics as one of the most influential and highly regarded movies of the 20th century. For some additional in-depth behind the scenes reading on "The Bridge on the River Kwai" check out the insightful William Holden biograpy entitled "Golden Boy". Excellent reading !! Quite simply an absolute "must have" addition to any DVD collection, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" remains a benchmark in inspirational movie making....I cannot recommend this film highly enough !!
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Summary: One of the all-time war movie greats.
Review: "Bridge Over the River Kwai" is an Oscar winning World War II film, loosely based on a book by the French writer Pierre Boulle. However, Hollywood had to change the plot to make it more palatable to American viewers by introducing an American star into the cast. The plot was also modified to accommodate a greater role for women: one female beauty makes a brief appearance, and several Asian women absent from the original novel play a key supporting role towards the end. What makes this movie a gem is not just the exciting plot, although that is an essential ingredient in making this a successful movie. A British contingent of soldiers in a Japanese prisoner of war camp are required to build a bridge across the river Kwai for the Japanese. But because this bridge is a threat to the Allies, they send in a troop of commandos to destroy the bridge. There is only one problem: the British commander (Colonel Nicholson) who built the bridge has taken so much pride in the construction work of his soldiers, that he does not want it destroyed. The tension rises to heart-stopping levels, with a thrilling climax. There is some violence in the movie, but it is minimal and only towards the end, and unlike modern war movies there is no focus on the gory details. The climax features stunning scenes that at the time were unprecedented in movie making history. And the ambiguity of the conclusion leaves plenty of room for after-movie discussion and contemplation. But what really makes this movie so stellar is the characterization and the psychological conflict at the beginning of the movie. What the second half of the movie offers in terms of intrigue and action, is more than matched by the psychological conflict in the first half. The Japanese commander of the prisoner of war camp (Colonel Saito) requires British officers to perform manual labour. Colonel Nicholson insists that this is contrary to the Geneva Convention, and together with his officers refuses to comply. This battle of personalities is the feature of the first part of the movie and is compelling, gripping, and involves brilliant acting. The repeated notion of "madness" also hints at underlying themes about the futility of war, making this a profoundly anti-war movie. This is evident in the complete reversal of the British colonel's attitude to his officers working and the final lines of the movie about "madness". Although not suitable for younger viewers because of the occasional intensity of the action and the themes of war, "The Bridge On The River Kwai" is generally a clean and wholesome movie when compared with modern movies. Given that the cinematography, characterization, and acting are all superb and thought-provoking (as well as the enduring whistling tune of the "Colonel Bogey March"), it is little wonder that this film rightly takes its place among the all-time war movie greats. In fact it's easily one of the best movies I have ever seen.
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Summary: Bridge on the River Kwai: Be Happy in Your Work
Review: David Lean's "Bridge on the River Kwai" is one of my favorite movies of all time, and one one the greatest war movies of all time, but a differnt war movie. Can the civilized Colonel Nichoson (brilliantly played by Alec Guinness and won him an Academy Award for best actor) defy the brutal Japanese Colonel Saito(Sessue Hayakawa, also brilliant)and win the war of wills? At first we think he won't but the plot takes a strange turn and this Nicholson turns out to be as fanatic as Saito is in the prison camp. Beautifully shot in Ceylon(Sri Lanka) serving well for Burma by Freddie Young, Lean's great photographer also for "Lawrence of Arabia" the viewer can feel the heat and humidity, see the starving appearance of the prisoners, who start buiding the bridge as a lark until Nicholson wins his points of honor and they work harder than ever. My favorite line in the movie is one of Colonel Saito's favorite sayings: "Be happy in your work," which takes on more and more irony as the film and story unfolds. There is a side plot, with William Holden barely escaping, only to be brought back back with hard-core commandoes(led by demolitions expert Jack Hawkins) to the camp to blow up the bridge. This is a wonderful psychological and subtle war film, with just enough adventure and action to balance its war of words, over the Geneva Covention(Nicholson keeps a copy of it in his pocket and then is slapped with it by Saito)over points of British stiff upper lip and Japanese warrior code,Bushido, two vastly different viewpoints but in the end breed fanatics. The acting, editing, writing,and photography are all flawless. This is one of the few war movies made forty ago that still rank with any today. A true masterpiece, much imitated. Lean is a director of place and attends to all the small details, from the ratty prisoner uniforms,a Japanese sentry standing guard in the heavy rainfall, and the haunting whistling of the entire ragged British company, marching tired and disease-infested into a new camp just after Holden has been digging graves. And the camp doctor, well-played by James Donald, saying "Madness! Madness! after watching the bridge being blown while a train crosses over. A true classic of any genre. The restored version is excellent and again , since I saw this movie on a large screen, see it if you can at the theater, even if you own this video. It is that good.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best war movies
Review: David Lean's "Bridge On the River Kwai" earned him his first Oscar in directing. Shot in Ceylon in 1957, it shows the other side of the WWII that is seldom seen, the Japanese side. Most of the movies about the WWII are about the Germans and the Holocaust. This one is about the battle of wits between two people, a Britisher, Col. Nicholson and a Japanese, Col. Saito. Though the movie was overshadowed by "Lawrence of Arabia", it has a special place among movies. The movie has passion, realism, wits and acting from a number of actors: Alec Guiness, William Holden and Jack Hawkins which is exemplary. Alec Guiness justifiably wins the oscar for acting in this epic. The music along with the whistling tune of "Colonel Bogey March" was beautifully played by the Royal Philharmonic. When the Batallion is ordered to surrender by their headquarters from Singapore to the Japanese at Camp 16, Col. Saito insists that all the prisoners of war help in building the bridge that is part of the railway that connects Bangkok to Rangoon. Col. Nicholson is adamant that he will follow the Geneva convention and that his officers will not do manual labour. His medical chief wonders who is mad in this diatribe. William Holden is the real human in this movie as Commander Shears of the US Navy who manages to escape from the camp. He is interested only in his well being. He bribes guards to get himself on the sick list as often as possible and is sarcastic about the war and Saito (with good reason). When Saito says, "Be happy in your work", he says it first. Before escape, when he asks Col. Nicholson if there should be an escape committee, he replies that they were ordered to surrender. Col. Nicholson, "Without law, there is no civilization". Comm. Shear, "But that is the point, here there is no civilization." Col. Nicholson, "Then we have a chance to introduce it. I suggest that we drop the subject of escape." Later when Lt. Jennings wishes to escape and talks to Comm. Shears, he says, "Listen kiddo, when your Colonel suggests something, it is a command." As in all David Lean movies, the screenplay is outstanding and poignant. Col. Nicholson helps build the bridge and is very proud of it without realizing that he is helping the enemy in the effect. This is not a movie of obvious good guys-bad guys. It takes Comm. Shears to go back and attempt to blow up the bridge for Col. Nicholson to come to his senses and realize the magnitude of the error that he has committed. This shows all the good and bad that war can have without sugar coating the truth. While this movie is not suitable for young people, and people with short attention spans, it is an outstanding movie for people who wish to have a movie with great story, character acting, screenplay and thoughtful direction. It is a movie that can withstand the test of time and is free of major errors; in short, it is a masterpiece. The DVD is well produced and is worth collecting. Of course, this movie is best when viewed on screen, but we have to do with the next best.
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Summary: Accurate history lesson? No. Great war film? Absolutely!
Review: I just saw this for the first time a few weeks ago. I was very, very impressed - though I did not anticipate it. For the first 15-20 minutes it kept looking to me like I was supposed to think of Alec Guiness as the hero of this film. After all, his men cheered for him and the patriotic music was playing for many of his scenes. But I heartily disagree with his character's convictions: officers will be exempt from manual (or enlisted) labors. In other words, the enlisted men would build the enemy's bridge while the officers stood by and watched (or supervised). Only one word comes to mind: Treason. I was glad to see this was not the case and that the screenplay writers had other things in mind. I have heard that this movie contains virtually no historical accuracy and that it has been criticized by the men who were actually involved in this particular incident. I can respect that. But it does not keep me from enjoying this movie. I think few people would watch this film, witness the colonel's attitudes toward the POW camp commander, and not think, "Surely, if this was real life, this man would be killed on the spot for what he is saying and doing." (Remember, most of the time Hollywood can't even successfully bring a fictional novel to the screen without butchering it.) Another movie I have a deep respect for is Steven Spielberg's AMISTAD, which has also been reported as having numerous historical errors. Other films/shows which are based on true stories but contain historical inaccuracies (some to a lesser degree than others) include SCHINDLER'S LIST, BRAVEHEART, MAN ON THE MOON, SHADOWLANDS, television's LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, and just about anything from Oliver Stone. It's always good to remember that Hollywood's primary purpose is to entertain. For education, books and documentaries (preferably those not put together by the Hollywood elite) are still the best (and most satisfying) ways to learn.
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Summary: Alec Guiness fiesta
Review: It's hard to beat the acting in this epic film. Alec Guiness, until then primarily known for comic roles, plays a ramrod straight British officer who has a tendency to get obsessed with matters of propriety and honor. He's deadly serious, but his performance comes right up to the edge of absurdity, including his amazing facial and body language at the climactic, ironic final moment. William Holden shows why he embodied the American male ideal in the 50s--the carefree, scheming existentialist who decides to care at the last, tragic moment. Sessue Hayakawa and Jack Hawkins are also memorable. This movie is one of my favorites. It unfolds slowly, but with a strong line of tension throughout that keeps you utterly hypnotized. The movie is almost the proto-typical blockbuster--fabulous photography, great scenery, powerful music, casts of thousands, and of course, that great big bridge that they actually built for the movie, and that, in the end, they...(I won't spoil it.) Rare is the movie that manages to have a compelling anti-war message while paying full tribute to the bravery of soldiers and the justice of war.
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Summary: Blood, sweat and tears.
Review: The 1957, Bridge On The River Kwai, is a W.W.II film loosely based on a novel written about true life events. William Holden, as Major Shears, has escaped from a Japanese POW camp where Alec Guinness, as Colonel Nicholson, is the ranking British officer. The cruel and fanatical Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) has been put in charge of constructing a railroad bridge over a river important to the Japanese. Saito and Nicholson struggle over using officers to help build the bridge. Saito uses vicious and brutal punishment in an attempt to break Nicholson, but the colonel never gives in. A compromise is reached and Nicholson persuades his men to build the bridge is a very short time. Meanwhile, Major Shears makes his way through the jungle and back to a base. He provides information about the bridge, but he truly wants to go home. He is forced into volunteering to guide a mission back into the camp to destroy the bridge. The leader is Major Warden (Jack Hawkins) who is very gun ho. When the two story lines mess, there is an exciting climax. Director David Lean uses the jungle scenery of Sri Lanka to appeal to the peace behind the madness of war. This film portrays the psychological effect of war on men and seems to place all men on the same level, regardless of country. It nominated for eight Academy Awards and won seven, including Best Picture, in 1957. A truly gripping story with beautiful scenery, it’s a classic epic that is a pleasure to watch.
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